Additive manufacturing of metal alloys and metal alloy matrix composites

ABSTRACT

An additive manufacturing method of producing a metal alloy article may involve: Providing a supply of a metal alloy in powder form; providing a supply of a nucleant material, the nucleant material lowering the nucleation energy required to crystallize the metal alloy; blending the supply of metal alloy powder and nucleant material to form a blended mixture; forming the blended mixture into a first layer; subjecting at least a portion of the first layer to energy sufficient to raise the temperature of the first layer to at least the liquidus temperature of the metal alloy; allowing at least a portion of the first layer to cool to a temperature sufficient to allow the metal alloy to recrystallize; forming a second layer of the blended mixture on the first layer; and repeating the subjecting and allowing steps on the second layer to form an additional portion of the metal alloy article.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. Pat. Application Serial No. 15/889,402, filed on Feb. 6, 2018, which is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. Pat. Application Serial No. 15/070,514, filed on Mar. 15, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,507,638, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Pat. Application No. 62/134,190, filed on Mar. 17, 2015, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference for all that they disclose.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to additive manufacturing general and more particularly to methods and systems for performing additive manufacturing with metal alloys, including aluminum alloys.

BACKGROUND

Additive manufacturing techniques have been known for decades and are currently used to produce a wide range of parts and articles suitable for any of a wide range of applications. The most common additive manufacturing processes may be grouped into three main categories: Powder bed sintering/melting, extrusion, and directed energy deposition by jetting/wire feed. One type of powder bed sintering/melting technique, which may be referred to as selective laser sintering/melting or direct metal laser sintering, utilizes a laser beam directed energy source to trace a design in a single layer of a powdered material. The heat from the laser sinters or melts the traced design into a solid piece with the thickness of that layer. A suitable material feed system may dispense another layer of powder on top of the layer just sintered. The process is then repeated until a three dimensional object is formed. However, the energy required to form each layer of material restricts the production speed and increases the cost of the equipment needed to produce an object, with ceramic materials typically requiring more energy than do metals, which in turn require more energy than do plastics.

Another process for forming articles is reaction synthesis. Reaction synthesis is a chemical process that can be used to form sintered materials much more rapidly than is possible with conventional sintering processes. A typical reaction synthesis process involves the mixing together of two or more reactants of dissimilar chemistry, typically in powder form. A die press may be used to compact the mixed powders, forming a compacted article or powder compact. Alternatively, a mold or crucible may be used to contain the powder mixture. Heat may then be applied to initiate a chemical reaction among the constituents. The process is often exothermic and results in the formation of one or more new phases. For example, the heat from a furnace or a flame can initiate a reaction in a mixture of titanium and carbon powder. The combination reaction releases heat and forms a sintered ceramic phase of titanium carbide. The heat produced by this reaction spreads to the powders around it, causing the reaction to propagate through any reactants present. Some such processes involve the addition of one or more inert species, often referred to as diluents, to control the reaction by absorbing heat.

Reaction synthesis techniques have been used to produce many types of materials including ceramics, metals, intermetallics, polymers, and composites. However, most reaction synthesis techniques require extensive processing steps including the design and fabrication of a die or mold and typically can only be used to produce articles of simple shapes with limited detail, thereby limiting such processes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of an additive manufacturing method of producing an aluminum article may involve: Providing a supply of an aluminum alloy in powder form having a D50 particle size in a range of about 5 µm to about 150 um; providing a supply of a nucleant material, the nucleant material lowering the nucleation energy required to crystallize the aluminum alloy; blending the supply of aluminum alloy powder and nucleant material to form a blended mixture; forming the blended mixture into a first layer; subjecting at least a portion of the first layer to energy sufficient to raise the temperature of the portion of the first layer to at least the liquidus temperature of the aluminum alloy; allowing the portion of the first layer to cool to a temperature sufficient to allow the aluminum alloy to recrystallize; forming a second layer of the blended mixture on the first layer; and repeating the subjecting and allowing steps on the second layer to form an additional portion of the article.

Another embodiment of a method of producing an article may involve: Providing a supply of an aluminum alloy in powder form having a D50 particle size in a range of about 5 µm to about 150 um; providing a supply of a nucleant precursor material; blending the supply of aluminum alloy powder and nucleant precursor material powder to form a blended mixture; forming the blended mixture into a first layer; subjecting at least a portion of the first layer to energy sufficient to initiate a reaction with the nucleant precursor material to form at least one nucleant, the at least one nucleant lowering the energy of nucleation of the aluminum alloy, the energy also being sufficient to raise the temperature of at least a portion of the first layer to at least the liquidus temperature of the aluminum alloy; allowing at least a portion of the first layer to cool to a temperature sufficient to allow the aluminum alloy to recrystallize; and repeating the forming, subjecting, and allowing steps on subsequent layers until the article is fully formed.

An additive manufacturing method of producing a metal alloy article may involve: Providing a supply of a metal alloy in powder form having a D50 particle size in a range of about 5 µm to about 150 um; providing a supply of a nucleant material, the nucleant material lowering the energy of nucleation of the metal alloy; blending the supply of metal alloy powder and nucleant material to form a blended mixture; forming the blended mixture into a first layer; subjecting at least a portion of the first layer to energy sufficient to raise the temperature of the portion of the first layer to at least the liquidus temperature of the metal alloy; allowing the portion of the first layer to cool to a temperature sufficient to allow the metal alloy to recrystallize; and repeating the forming, subjecting, and allowing steps on subsequent layers until the metal alloy article is formed.

Also disclosed is a metal alloy powder for use in a laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process that includes a mixture of metal alloy particles and a nucleant material, the metal alloy particles having a D50 particle size in a range of about 5 µm to about 150 µm, the nucleant material lowering the energy of nucleation of the metal alloy particles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative and presently preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a process flow diagram of a reactive additive manufacturing process according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram of a reactive additive manufacturing process according to a second embodiment the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram of a third embodiment of a reactive additive manufacturing process;

FIG. 4 is a scanning electron micrograph at 5000x magnification of a portion of an Example 1 article; and

FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram of an additive manufacturing process for aluminum alloys and aluminum metal matrix composites.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One embodiment of a reactive additive manufacturing process 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1 and may involve providing at least a supply of a first material 12 and a second material 14. The first and second materials 12 and 14 are capable of reacting with one another upon the addition of energy to form a final article or product 16. In some embodiments, the first and second materials 12 and 14 may comprise powders, although the provision of the first and second materials 12 and 14 in powder form is not required. For example, in other embodiments, the second material 14 may be provided in gaseous form e.g., in an atmosphere surrounding the first material 12, and made available to react with the first material 12 at an appropriate time during the process. Further, and as will be explained in much greater detail herein, additional materials, such as additional reactant materials 18, diluents 20, liquids 22, and binders 24 may be added, depending on a wide range of factors, including the type of final product 16 to be produced.

In some embodiments, the particular materials being used may be combined or mixed together, e.g., in a mixer or blender 26, to form a blended material 28. Blended material 28 may then be formed, e.g., in step 30, into a first layer 32 on a suitable base 34. Alternatively, if only one primary constituent is involved (e.g., in embodiments where the second material 14 is to be provided in gaseous form), the blending step may be omitted and the first layer 32 may be formed solely from the first material 12. In some embodiments, the first layer 32 may be formed by compacting the materials (e.g., either first material 12 or blended material 28) in an optional compaction process 36. Alternatively and/or additionally, the various materials (e.g., first material 12 or blended material 28) may be subjected to an optional evaporation process 38 to remove any liquid components that may be present in either the first material 12 or the blended material 28, as the case may be.

Regardless of the particular materials and processes that may be used to form first layer 32, reactive additive manufacturing process 10 may then advance to step 40 in which at least a portion of the first layer 32 is subjected to energy sufficient to initiate a reaction between at least the first and second materials 12 and 14, thereby forming a reaction product. In some embodiments, the energy may be provided by a beam of directed energy 42, such as a laser beam 44. In other embodiments, the energy may be provided by a localized energy source, such as a heater or hot filament 243 (FIG. 3 ). In an embodiment wherein the energy is provided by a directed energy beam 42, the beam of directed energy 42 may be caused to move over the first layer 32 in the desired pattern. The result will be the formation of a reacted portion or layer 32′ of the article 16 being manufactured. The reacted portion or layer 32′ of article 16 will comprise primarily the reacted product, although it may also comprise other materials in lesser amounts, such as unreacted amounts of the first and second materials 12 and 14 and/or partially reacted products of the first and second materials 12 and 14. Depending on the particular embodiment, step 40 may be conducted in the presence of a process gas 46, such as a reactive gas (e.g., which may comprise the second material 14 in some embodiments) or an inert gas. Alternatively, step 40 may be conducted in a vacuum 48 or a partial vacuum.

After the first layer 32 of the desired article 16 has been reacted to form reacted first layer 32′, step 30 may be repeated in which a second layer 50 is formed over the just-reacted first layer 30′. Thereafter, step 40 may again be performed in which energy (e.g., from directed energy beam 42) is provided to the second layer 50 in an amount sufficient to initiate a reaction between at least the first and second materials 12 and 14 in order to form a reacted second layer 50′ of the article 16. The reacted second portion or layer 50′ of article 16 again will comprise primarily the reaction product of at least first and second materials 12 and 14, although it may comprise other materials as well. After it is determined that the article 16 is complete, e.g., at step 52, the process 10 may be terminated.

Depending on the particular embodiment, the as-produced article 16 may be surrounded by unreacted portions of the first and second materials 12 and 14 used to form the various reacted layers, e.g., 32′ and 50′. Such material may be removed, e.g., mechanically, to reveal the final product or article 16.

A significant advantage of the present invention is that it may be used to produce articles comprising a wide range of shapes, material compositions, and mechanical or structural properties. In particular, existing additive manufacturing methods for producing high strength parts typically use homogeneous powder materials of the same composition as the desired product composition. This approach has resulted in a limited selection of materials that can be successfully utilized by existing additive manufacturing processes to produce high quality parts. The existing materials selection for the most common commercially available additive manufacturing processes is currently limited primarily to polymers and specific metal alloys. Since most existing additive manufacturing processes rely on heating layers of a part to near or above the melting temperature of the material, high temperature materials like many ceramics require high energy input and are difficult to manufacture with these processes. Due to the limitations of existing processes, ceramics, intermetallics, and metal ceramic composite materials are largely unavailable for use with additive manufacturing processes.

In the case of ceramic materials, the properties of ceramic articles produced by conventional ceramic processing techniques can often be improved by use of ceramic constituent powders with small particle sizes (e.g. less than about 10 µm and often less than about 1 µm diameter) to produce fine grained sintered ceramic articles. Such extremely fine particle sizes cannot be used in most existing powder bed additive manufacturing processes because the poor flowability of the fine powders results in difficulty obtaining an evenly spread layer.

In contrast to the various limitations, drawbacks, and disadvantages associated with known fabrication processes, the reactive additive manufacturing processes of the present invention provides for significant improvements and options in terms of material composition, energy requirements, and ease of manufacture.

For example, in embodiments where energy is released by an exothermic chemical reaction between the various constituents (e.g., first and second materials 12 and 14), less external energy input is required to achieve fusion of the powder form materials into a complete article 16. The lower external energy requirement allows for increased manufacturing speeds and/or reduced equipment costs. The invention allows additive manufacturing techniques to use materials that were not considered possible or practical with conventional additive manufacturing processes. Since the melting points of the reactant materials are often below the melting points of the product materials, the in-situ product synthesis utilized by the present invention can result in improved product densities compared to conventional additive manufacturing techniques that attempt to directly sinter or melt the high temperature product phase. In addition, since the product phases are formed in-situ, fine grained product materials can be formed even with use of relatively large-sized reactant materials. This allows for improved product properties while maintaining optimal powder flow and spreading characteristics for the blended mixture.

The use of constituent reactant materials also allows for increased flexibility to easily modify mixture compositions by changing the ratios of the constituent materials. For example, a blended mixture designed to produce a ceramic-metal matrix composite with 20 vol.% ceramic could easily be modified to instead produce a 25 vol.% ceramic-metal matrix composite. This flexibility is particularly useful for development work but can also be useful for readily customizing the material properties based on the specific combination most suitable for the product article.

Having briefly described one embodiment 10 of the reactive additive manufacturing process according to the present invention, as well as some of its more significant features and advantages, various embodiments, modifications, and alternative arrangements possible with the present invention will now be described in detail. However, before proceeding with the detailed description, it should be noted that the various exemplary embodiments are shown and described herein as they could be used with certain starting materials to make articles comprising reactive components of those materials. However, and as would become apparent to persons having ordinary skill in the art after having become familiar with the teachings provided herein, the present invention may be used with a wide variety of starting materials to form a wide variety of articles comprising a wide range of shapes, compositions, material, and structural properties. Accordingly, the present invention should not be regarded as limited to the particular materials, process steps, article shapes, compositions, and material properties shown and described herein.

Referring back now to FIG. 1 , a reactive additive manufacturing process 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention may comprise providing a supply of a first material 12 and a second material 14. At least the first and second materials 12 and 14 are capable of reacting with one another upon the addition of energy to form a reaction product or products. As mentioned earlier, optional reactant materials 18 may be added that may react with materials 12 and 14 to form the reaction product or products.

In some embodiments, one or more diluent materials 20 may be added to absorb heat and reduce the reaction rate, reaction temperature, and the propagation rate and/or extent of the reaction. The additional diluent materials 20 may participate in the reaction as intermediary reactants, solvents, or catalysts that may reduce the energy input required to initiate the primary chemical reactions (e.g., between first and second materials 12 and 14 and any additional reactant materials 18). When one or more diluent materials 20 are added, it may be desirable to use pre-synthesized product materials of the same composition as one or more of the reaction products. It also may be desirable to use diluent materials 20 that confer beneficial properties to the article 16, such as metals or alloys, to serve as a matrix for reaction synthesized ceramic phases. Diluent materials 20 may also be chosen to provide other advantages such as aid in sintering of the product phases or to inhibit grain growth.

Reaction equations may be used to determine stoichiometric ratios for the relative quantities of the participating reactant species. The stoichiometric ratios can be readily converted to mass ratios using the molecular/atomic weights of the species, as would become apparent to persons having ordinary skill in the art after having become familiar with the teachings provided herein. The chemical energy released or absorbed by the reaction can be calculated with the use of tabulated chemical thermodynamic data tables such as the JANAF Thermochemical Tables, which are specifically incorporated herein by reference for all that they disclose. The calculated reaction energy can be used with temperature-dependent heat capacity and phase change energy data to calculate the adiabatic reaction temperature for the desired material system. The energy of the reaction, temperature dependent heat capacity data, and the energy density input from the directed energy beam 42 or localized energy (e.g., from heater or filament 243, FIG. 3 ) can be used to estimate the adiabatic peak temperatures that may be obtained during processing step 40.

For exothermic chemical reactions, the heat input by the directed energy source or localized energy source and the heat released by the chemical reaction will be conducted by the material to adjacent regions and may be sufficient to initiate the chemical reaction in these adjacent regions. In cases where the heat released by the chemical reaction alone is adequate to initiate the reaction in adjacent layers, the reaction may propagate throughout the contacting reactant material. In cases where the heat released by the chemical reaction alone is not adequate to initiate the reaction in adjacent layers, limited local reaction propagation may still occur due to the additional heat input from the directed energy source 42 or localized energy source 243. The distance of the local reaction propagation is affected by the energy input from the directed energy source and the energy released by the chemical reaction. As already mentioned, one or more diluent materials 20 may be utilized to control the extent and/or rate of propagation.

For powder bed embodiments (e.g., wherein the various layers 32, 50 are formed from powders), limited localized reaction propagation may be beneficial by allowing for increased processing speed and a favorable microstructure, however excessive propagation is generally not desirable because it will reduce the detail and tolerances that can be achieved by the additive manufacturing process. Therefore, for powder bed embodiments, it is generally preferable to design the reactant systems to limit reaction propagation.

Further, in embodiments wherein the materials are provided in powder form, it may be generally desirable to use powders having spherical shapes or morphologies due to their flowability. That is, the use of flowable powders improves the ability to distribute the powder into uniform layers. Powder flowability is also affected by the diameters of the particles, with particles that are too small having poor flow characteristics and particles that are too large limiting the ability to produce fine article detail and hindering chemical activity.

The particle sizes of each of the constituent powders may individually be controlled by the powder manufacturing techniques or classification steps (e.g. sieving) to provide powders of the desired sizes. The preferred size of each constituent powder may be based on the constituent material properties including density, morphology, hygroscopicity, oxygen affinity and oxide/hydroxide layer characteristics, and electrostatic interactions, again as would become apparent to persons having ordinary skill in the art after having become familiar with the teachings provided herein.

Referring back now to FIG. 1 , it may also be desirable to add one or more liquids 22 and/or binders 24 to the mixture. Liquids 22 and/or binders 24 may be added to improve the flowability of the fine particles (e.g., materials 12, 14, 18, and 20) by binding them into agglomerates or to form a paste, slurry, suspension, colloidal suspension, or plastically deformable composite material. Any added liquids 22 and/or binders 24 may be selected to volatilize or decompose following the layer formation prior to or during the application of energy to initiate the chemical reaction. Such materials 22 and 24 also may participate in the chemical reaction to form product phases in the article 16.

By way of example, liquid 22 and/or binder 24 may comprise any of a wide range of waxes, polymers, or other low-melting temperature material that is a liquid, viscous liquid, or capable of undergoing viscous flow at room temperature or otherwise prior to or during the blending step.

The first and second materials 12, 14, and optionally any reactant, diluent, liquid, and/or binder material(s) 18, 20, 22, and 24 may be combined or mixed together in a suitable mixer 26 to form blended material 28. Mixer 26 may comprise any of a wide range of mixing devices, such as tumblers, mixers, ball mills, or blenders, that are known in the art or that may be developed in the future that are (or would be) would be suitable for the particular application (e.g., the formation of a slurry or colloidal suspension) and materials involved. The resulting blended material 28 may be spread to form first layer 32 in step 30. The blended material 28 may be so formed by any of a wide range of spreading and forming devices (not shown), such as, for example, coating blades, brushes, rollers, sprayers, or dispensers that are now known in the art or that may be developed in the future that are (or would be) suitable for forming the desired layers.

The first layer 32 may be spread or formed on a suitable base plate 34. Alternatively, the first layer 32 may be formed on a pre-existing article 34′ which may comprise the same materials as the article 16. In such an embodiment, the article 16 so formed may be welded or otherwise bonded to the pre-existing article 34′, although this is not required.

The material (e.g., the first material 12 alone, or the blended material 28) forming the various layers (e.g., 32, 50) optionally may be compressed or compacted, e.g., at step 36, to form a compacted layer. Such a compaction step may be accomplished by any of a wide range of compaction devices, such as press plates, dies, or rollers. Alternatively, the various layers (e.g., 32, 50), may be compacted or compressed by means of isostatic pressure. If a liquid 22 and/or binder 24 was added, then the liquid 22 and/or binder material 24 may be evaporated or decomposed in step 38. Step 38 may involve the application of heat and/or reduced pressure (e.g., a vacuum or partial vacuum) for a time sufficient to evaporate or decompose the liquid 22 and/or binder 24.

Thereafter, at least a portion of the layer 32 may then be subjected to energy (i.e., during step 40) sufficient to initiate the reaction between at least some of the materials comprising the layer 32. In some embodiments, energy sufficient for initiating the reaction may be provided by a directed energy beam 42 that may be caused to be directed over the layer 32 in the desired pattern. Directed energy beam 42 may comprise any of a wide range of directed energy beams, such as a laser (or similar type of electromagnetic radiation) beam 44, an electron (or other particle) beam, or an electric plasma arc. In other embodiments, the energy required to initiate the reaction may comprise a source of localized energy, such as a hot filament or heater 243 (FIG. 3 ) positioned adjacent the layer 32.

The temperature required to initiate the chemical reaction for a specific system (i.e., combination of materials in the layer 32) can be determined experimentally, obtained from literature, or estimated theoretically. The reaction initiation temperature can be converted to an energy requirement using heat capacity and phase change energy data for the reactant materials, as would become apparent to persons having ordinary skill in the art after having become familiar with the teachings provided herein.

In embodiments utilizing a directed energy beam 42, the directed energy beam 42 may be configured or adapted to provide sufficient energy to the portion of the layer 32 to initiate reactions between materials in the blended mixture 28 thereby forming the reaction products and fusing the materials together to form a reacted layer 32′ in the article 16. If the first layer 32 was spread onto a base plate 34 or pre-fabricated article 34′, the directed energy beam 42 and/or reaction energy may also fuse the reacted first layer 32′ to the base plate 34 or article 34′.

As briefly mentioned earlier, and depending on the particular embodiment, step 40 may be conducted in the presence of a process gas 46, such as a reactive gas (e.g., which may comprise the second material 14 in some embodiments) or an inert gas. Alternatively, step 40 may be conducted in a vacuum or partial vacuum 48. If so, process 40 may be conducted in a suitable process chamber 54.

As mentioned, the reacted portion or layer 32′ of article 16 may comprise primarily the equilibrium phases including the reactant products and optional diluent materials, although it may also comprise in lesser amounts non-equilibrium phases including unreacted reactant materials and intermediary compounds of the first and second materials 12, 14, and optionally additional reactant materials 18, diluent materials 20, and liquid/binder materials 22 and 24.

After the first layer 32′ of the desired article 16 has been fully formed, step 30 may be repeated in which additional amounts of the reactive material(s) (e.g., first material 12 or blended material 28, depending on the particular embodiment) are spread or formed into a second layer 50 over the just-formed layer 32′ of the article 16. Thereafter, step 40 may again be performed in which the directed energy source or beam 42 is directed over the second layer 50 in order to form a second reacted portion or layer 50′ of the article 16. The second portion or reacted layer 50′ of the article 16 again may comprise primarily the equilibrium product phases, although it may also comprise other non-equilibrium phases as well. The steps of adding additional layers (in step 30) and subjecting them to directed energy (in step 40) may be repeated until it is determined at step 52 that the article 16 is complete. When the article 16 is complete, the process 10 may be terminated.

In many embodiments, the manufactured article 16 will be surrounded by unreacted and non-fused portions of the material used to form the various layers. Such materials may be removed (e.g., mechanically), to reveal the final product or article 16.

A second embodiment 110 of the reactive additive manufacturing process is illustrated in FIG. 2 and also may involve providing a supply of a first material 112 and second material 114. However, in the second embodiment 110, the second material 114 may be provided in gaseous form to a suitable process chamber 154 so that the gaseous material 114 forms an atmosphere around the various layers 132, 150. Thus, second material 114 may be referred to herein in the alternative as a process gas 146. The first material 112 is capable of reacting with the gaseous material 114 upon the addition of energy to form a reaction product or products.

Before proceeding with the description it should be noted that in other embodiments the second material 114 need not be provided in gaseous form. For example, in other embodiments, the second material 114 may be provided as a vapor, mist, spray or liquid. In still yet other embodiments, the second material 114 may be provided in wire, tube or strip form. In such embodiments, the wire, tube, or strip of second material 114 may be provided in the form of a consumable electrode to provide directed energy in the form of a plasma arc or electron beam.

As was the case for the first embodiment 10, one or more additional reactant material(s) 118 may optionally be added that may react with materials 112, 114 to form a reaction product or products. One or more diluent material(s) 120 also may be added to absorb heat and reduce the reaction rate, reaction temperature, reaction extent, or amount of propagation of the reaction. As already described, the additional diluent materials 120 may participate in the reaction as intermediary reactants, solvents, or catalysts that may reduce the energy input required to initiate the primary chemical reactions. When diluent materials 120 are added, it may be desirable to use pre-synthesized product materials of the same composition as one or more of the reaction products. It also may be desirable to use diluent materials 120 that confer beneficial properties to the final article 116 such as metals or alloys to serve as a matrix for reaction synthesized ceramic phases. Diluent materials 120 may also be chosen to provide other advantages such as aid in sintering of the product phases or to inhibit grain growth.

Here again, and as was the case for the first embodiment 10, reaction equations may be used in the second embodiment 110 to determine stoichiometric ratios for the relative quantities of the participating reactant species. The stoichiometric ratios can be readily converted to mass ratios using the molecular/atomic weights of the particular species involved. The chemical energy released or absorbed by the reaction can be calculated with the use of tabulated chemical thermodynamic data tables such as the JANAF Thermochemical Tables. This calculated reaction energy can be used with temperature dependent heat capacity and phase change energy data for all constituents to calculate the adiabatic reaction temperature for the material system. The energy of the reaction, temperature dependent heat capacity data, and the energy density input from the directed energy source can be used to estimate the adiabatic peak temperatures that may be obtained during processing.

For exothermic chemical reactions, the heat input by the directed energy source and the heat released by the chemical reaction will be conducted by the material in layer 132 to adjacent regions and may be sufficient to initiate the chemical reaction in these adjacent regions. In cases where the heat released by the chemical reaction alone is adequate to initiate the reaction in adjacent layers (e.g., second layer 150), the reaction may propagate throughout the contacting reactant material. In cases where the heat released by the chemical reaction alone is not adequate to initiate the reaction in adjacent layers, limited local propagation may still occur due to the additional heat input from the directed energy source 142. The distance of the local propagation is affected by the energy input from the directed energy source 142 and the energy released by the chemical reaction. Diluent materials 118 may be utilized to control the extent of propagation.

In most variations of the second embodiment 110, the first material 112 and optional materials 116 and 118 will comprise powders, although the provision of powder form is not required. Here again, spherical powder morphologies are generally preferred to improve the ability to distribute the powder into a uniform layer (i.e. the powder flowability.) The powder flowability is also affected by the diameters of the particles with particles that are too small having poor flow characteristics and particles that are too large limiting the ability to produce fine article detail and hindering chemical activity. The particle sizes of each of the constituent powders may individually be controlled by the powder manufacturing techniques or separation techniques (e.g. sieving) to provide powders of the desired sizes. The preferred size of each constituent powder may be based on the constituent material properties including density, morphology, hygroscopicity, oxygen affinity and oxide/hydroxide layer characteristics, and electrostatic interactions.

It may also be desirable in the second embodiment 110 to add one or more liquids 122 and/or binders 124 to the first material 112. Here again, liquids 122 and/or binders 124 may be added to improve the flowability of the first material 112 and/or any added materials (e.g., materials 118 and 120) by binding them into agglomerates or to form a paste, slurry, suspension, colloidal suspension, or plastically deformable composite material. Any added liquids 122 and/or binders 124 may be selected to volatilize or decompose following the layer formation prior to or during the application of energy to initiate the chemical reaction. Such materials 122 and 124 also may participate in the chemical reaction to form product phases in the article 116. Liquid 122 and/or binder 124 may comprise any of a wide range of waxes, polymers, or other low-melting temperature material that is a liquid, viscous liquid, or capable of undergoing viscous flow at room temperature or otherwise prior to or during the blending step.

The first material 112 and optionally any additional reactant, diluent, liquid, and/or binder material(s) 118, 120, 122, and/or 124 may be combined or mixed together, e.g., in a suitable mixer 126 to form a blended material 128. The resulting blended material 128 may be spread on a base 134 or pre-existing article 134′ in step 130 to form a first layer 132. As was the case for the first embodiment 10, any of a range of spreading or forming devices, such as coating blades, brushes, rollers, sprayers, or dispensers, may be used for this purpose.

The material (e.g, the first material 112 alone or the blended material 128) forming the various layers optionally may be compressed or compacted at step 136 to form a compacted layer. Again, any of a wide range of compaction devices, such as press plates, dies, or rollers may be used for this purpose. The layers may also be compressed or compacted by means of isostatic pressure. If a liquid 122 or binder 124 was added, then such material 122 and 124 may be evaporated or decomposed in optional evaporation step 138. Step 138 may involve the application of heat and/or reduced pressure for a time sufficient to evaporate or decompose substantially all of the liquid and/or binder material 122, 124, as the case may be. Here again, the compaction and evaporation steps 136 and 138 may be conducted separately or in combination. Alternatively, neither the compaction nor evaporation steps 136 and 138 need be conducted.

In the second embodiment 110, the second material 114 (i.e., which may comprise process gas 146) may be introduced into the process chamber 154. The process gas 146 may comprise a single reactive gas type (e.g., second material 114), multiple reactive gas types, or a reactive gas together with one or more inert gases, e.g. argon.

Thereafter, the first layer 132 may be subjected to energy during step 140 to form a reacted portion or layer 132′ of the article 116 to be manufactured. Here again, the energy provided may comprise directed energy (e.g., from a directed energy beam 142). Alternatively, the energy may comprise localized energy, such as from a hot filament or heater 243 (FIG. 3 ). The process gas 146 (i.e., which may comprise second reactant material 114) may be provided at controlled pressures, flow rates, and/or ratios to control the reaction products, rates, peak temperatures, reaction propagation, or extent of completion during the reaction process. For variations involving process chamber 154, the atmosphere of process gas 146 may be maintained during layer spreading through subjection to energy at step 140, including optional compaction 136 and/or evaporation 138 steps. In embodiments wherein the process chamber 154 may also serve as a pressure vessel, the pressure of the process gas 146 may be selected to be maintained at any desired pressure, i.e., above or below ambient pressure. Alternatively, process 140 may be conducted in a vacuum or partial vacuum 148.

In embodiments wherein the energy required to initiate the reaction is provided by directed energy, the directed energy beam 142 may be controlled or configured to provide sufficient energy to the portion of the layer 132 to initiate reactions between the materials, thereby forming the reaction products and fusing the materials together to form a reacted layer 132′. If the first layer 132 was spread onto a compatible base plate 134 or pre-fabricated article 134′, then the directed energy beam 142 and/or reaction energy may also fuse the first layer 132′ to the plate 134 or pre-fabricated article 134′. The reaction products may include products formed by reaction of components of the reactive material(s) in blended mixture 128, products formed by reaction of components in the blended mixture 128 with the various species (i.e., second reactant 114) comprising process gas 146, and products formed by reaction of components of the process gas 146 reacting with other components in the process gas 146. The reacted layer 132′ may also comprise equilibrium phases including the reactant products and optional diluent materials, although it may also comprise non-equilibrium phases including unreacted reactant materials and intermediary compounds of components of the blended materials 128 and process gas 146.

After the first layer 132′ of the desired article 116 has been fully formed, step 130 may be repeated in which additional amounts of the blended material 128 are spread, formed, or (optionally) compacted over the just-formed layer 132′ of the article 116 to form a second layer 150. Thereafter, step 140 again may be performed in which the directed energy beam 142 is directed over the second layer 150 in order to form a second reacted portion or layer 150′ of the article 116 to be manufactured. The second portion or layer 150′ of the article 116 again may comprise the equilibrium product phases of the various constituents, although it may also comprise other non-equilibrium phases as well. The steps 130 and 140 of adding an additional layer and subjecting it to directed energy may be repeated until it is determined at step 152 that the article 116 is complete. When the article 116 is complete, the process 110 may be terminated. In most versions of this second embodiment 110, the manufactured article 116 will be surrounded by unreacted and non-fused portions of the blended material 128 used to form the various layers (e.g., 132′, 150′). Such materials may be removed (e.g., mechanically), to reveal the final product or article 116.

Still other variations and modifications of the present invention are possible. For example, and with reference now primarily to FIG. 3 , a third embodiment 210 of a reactive additive manufacturing process according to the present invention may involve the formation of a blended paste material 228 which thereafter may be extruded at step 230 to form a ‘green’ article 215. Depending on the particular final article 216 that is to be produced, green article 215 may comprise substantially the entirety of the final article 216. Alternatively, green article 215 may comprise a smaller portion, or even an individual layer 232 of the final article 216.

Once the green article 215 or layer 232 has been fully formed, it may then be heated e.g., by a heater 243, to initiate one or more chemical reactions and form the final article 216. Alternatively, the green article 215 or layer 232 may be subjected to a directed energy beam 242 prior to adding subsequent layers 250. The heat or directed energy may partially or fully fuse the layers 230, 250 and may or may not be sufficient to initiate one or more chemical reactions in the layers. In this embodiment, if the chemical reactions have already formed the desired product phases when subjecting the layers to heat or directed energy, the fully formed article 216 may comprise the final article 216 without the requirement for further subjection to heat, e.g., during step 256. The most substantial difference in this third embodiment 210 compared to the first embodiment 10 is that the blended material 228 is applied only to the layer locations where the article is to be formed as opposed to being spread over an entire bed as was the case in the first embodiment 10.

More specifically, method 210 may involve providing first and second materials 212 and 214 and optionally additional reactant and diluent materials 218 and 220. As was the case for the first and second embodiments 10 and 110, the first and second materials 212 and 214 and optional reactant materials 218 are capable of reacting with one another upon the addition of energy to form a desired reaction product or products for the formation of the article 216.

As was the case for the other embodiments 10 and 110, one or more diluents 220 may be added to absorb heat and/or reduce the reaction rate, reaction temperature, and amount of propagation of the reaction. The additional diluent materials 220 may participate in the reaction as intermediary reactants, solvents, or catalysts that may reduce the energy input required to initiate the primary chemical reactions. When diluent materials 220 are added, it may be desirable to use pre-synthesized product materials of the same composition as one or more of the reaction products. It also may be desirable to use diluent materials 220 that confer beneficial properties to the article such as metals or alloys to serve as a matrix for reaction synthesized ceramic phases. Diluent materials 220 may also be chosen to provide other advantages such as aid in sintering of the product phases or to inhibit grain growth.

In many embodiments, the first and second materials 212 and 214, and optional additional reactant and diluent materials 218 and 220 may be provided in powder form, although the provision of these materials in powder form is not required. Once the first and second materials 212 and 214 and optional additional reactant and/or diluent materials 218 and/or 220 have been provided, they may be combined or mixed together, e.g., in a suitable mixer 226 to form a blended material 228. In most variations on this embodiment 210, the blended material 228 should comprise a paste or paste-like material (e.g., a slurry or colloid) suitable for later extrusion. Accordingly, in the particular embodiment shown and described herein, a liquid 222 and/or a binder 224 may be added during the blending process to form the blended paste or paste-like material 228.

As was the case for the other embodiments 10 and 110, reaction equations may be used in the embodiment 210 to determine stoichiometric ratios for the relative quantities of the participating reactant species. The stoichiometric ratios can be readily converted to mass ratios using the molecular/atomic weights of the species. The chemical energy released or absorbed by the reaction can be calculated with the use of tabulated chemical thermodynamic data tables such as the JANAF Thermochemical Tables. The calculated reaction energy can be used with temperature-dependent heat capacity and phase change energy data for all constituents to calculate the adiabatic reaction temperature for the material system. The energy of the reaction, temperature-dependent heat capacity data, and the energy density input from the directed energy source can be used to estimate the adiabatic peak temperatures that may be obtained during processing.

For exothermic chemical reactions, the heat input at step 240 (or step 256) together with the heat released by the chemical reaction will be conducted by the reacting material to adjacent regions may be sufficient to initiate the chemical reaction in these adjacent regions. In cases where the heat released by the chemical reaction is adequate to initiate the reaction in adjacent layers, the reaction may propagate throughout the reactant material. In cases where the heat released by the chemical reaction alone is not adequate to initiate the reaction in adjacent layers, limited local propagation may still occur due to the additional heat input from the directed energy source 242 or heater 243. The distance of the local propagation is affected by the energy input from the directed energy source 242 or heater 243 and the energy released by the chemical reaction. Again, one or more diluent materials 220 may be utilized to control the extent of reaction propagation. For extrusion based embodiments, such as third embodiment 210, full propagation of the chemical reaction may be desirable.

After the various constituent materials have been combined and blended together, the resulting blended paste material 228 may be extruded in step 230 to form the green article 215 or a portion or layer 232 of the article to be manufactured. Any liquid and/or binder materials 222 and/or 224 that were added may optionally be evaporated or decomposed from the extruded material in step 238 by application of heat and/or reduced pressure for a sufficient time. In step 240, the extruded layer 232 may optionally be subjected to directed energy beam 242 or heat from a heater 243 in order to partially or fully fuse the material to form a fused or reacted layer 232′. In this embodiment it should be noted that the energy provided by directed energy beam 242 or heater 243 during step 240 may or may not be sufficient to initiate one or more chemical reactions in the green article 215 or layer 232. In this variation, if the chemical reactions have already formed the desired product phases when subjecting the various layers (e.g., 232, 250) to heat or directed energy, the fully formed article may be the final article 216 without the requirement for further subjection to heat at step 256.

Depending on the particular materials involved and/or the final article 216 to be produced, step 240 may be conducted in the presence of a process gas 246. Process gas 246 may comprise a reactive gas or an inert gas. If so, process 240 may be conducted in a suitable process chamber 254. Alternatively, step 240 may be conducted in a vacuum or a partial vacuum 248.

Additional extruded layers (e.g., second layer 250) may be added until the article is fully formed, e.g., as determined at step 252. In a variation of the third embodiment 210, the extrusion process may progress in a continuous manner without discontinuation of the extrusion process between layers. In such a continuous extrusion process, the optional application of heat or directed energy may also progress in a continuous manner until the article 216 is fully formed. If the article layers have not been subjected to heat or directed energy sufficient to initiate the chemical reactions to form the desired product phases (i.e., during step 240), the formed or manufactured article will continue to comprise a ‘green’ article 215, and will comprise the unreacted materials (e.g., first and second materials 212 and 214 and optionally additional reactant materials 218, diluent materials 220, and any liquid and/or binder materials 222 and/or 224 comprising the blended paste 228.

Thereafter, the green article 215 may be heated at step 256 in order to initiate the reaction between the first and second materials 212 and 214 and optional additional reactant materials 218, diluent materials 220, and any liquid and/or binder materials 222, 224. The temperature and time required to initiate and complete the chemical reaction for a specific system can be determined experimentally, obtained from literature, or estimated theoretically. The reaction initiation temperature can be converted to an energy requirement using heat capacity and phase change energy data for the reactant materials.

The result will be a final article 216 comprising primarily the reaction product of first and second materials 212 and 214 and optionally additional reactant materials 218 and liquid and/or binder materials 222 and/or 224, as well as any optional diluent materials 220. Depending on the particular materials involved, any liquid and/or binder materials 222 and/or 224 used to form the blended paste 228 may be removed either during the optional evaporation step 238 or during the heating steps 240 or 256. The liquid and/or binder materials 222 and/or 224 may alternatively decompose instead of fully evaporate or participate in the chemical reactions to contribute to the product phases.

EXAMPLES Reaction Equation Examples

A wide range of product materials can be produced by the methods described in this invention. The invention can be used to produce materials including metals, intermetallics, ceramics, composites, and polymers. Examples of suitable reactions are given below to illustrate the versatility of the process and the inventions should not be limited by these examples. The stoichiometric coefficients (unity where not indicated) represent the number of moles of each species. The variables x and y are used to represent diluent coefficients that can be varied to adjust the reaction temperature and/or product composition. The calculated adiabatic combustion temperature, T_(ad), with a starting temperature of 298 K is given for the solid phase reactions for the indicated stoichiometric coefficients.

TABLE I Example Reactions Reactants Products Energy (kJ) T_(ad(298k)) (K) Ti + C TiC -185 3433 Ti + 2B TiB₂ -280 3450 3Ti + B₄C 2TiB₂ + TiC -682 3230 Si + C SiC -72 1852 W + C WC -40 1164 B + 4C B₄C -62 957 Ni + Ti NiTi -68 1438 Mo + 2Si MoSi₂ -119 1799 4Al + 3TiO₂ + 3C 2Al₂O₃ + 3TiC -1071 2355 Ti + Si + 2C TiC + SiC -256 2763 B₂O₃ + Ti + 2Al TiB₂ + Al₂O₃ -682 2846 B₂O₃ + 2B + C + 2Al B₄C + Al₂O₃ -464 2200 Mo + 2Se MoSe₂ -154 2213 Fe₂O₃ + 2Al Al₂O₃ + 2Fe -853 2862 3CaO + P₂O₅ Ca₃ (PO₄)₂ -170 2083

TABLE II Examples with Diluent/Intermediary Reactant/Catalyst/Solvent Species: Reactants Products For x,y Energy (kJ) T_(ad(298K)) (K) Ti + C + xTiC (1+x) TiC 1 5 -185 -185 2075 964 Ti + C + xTiC + yAl (1 + x)TiC + yAl 1, 1 2, 5 -185 -185 1634 933 Ti + C + xNi TiC + xNi 1 5 -185 -185 2193 1193 Ti + 2B + xNi TiB₂ + xNi 1 5 -280 -280 2498 1488 3Ti + B₄C + xAl 2TiB₂ + TiC + xAl 1 10 -682 -682 2096 1462 W + C + xCo WC + Co 1 0.33 -40 -40 840 1018 Fe₂O₃ + 2Al + xFe Al₂O₃ + (2 + x) + Fe 1 15 -853 -853 2927 1536 (3+x)SiO₂ + 4Al + ySi + (3+y)C xSiO₂ + (3 + y)SiC + 2Al₂O₃ 1, 1 2, 5 -906 -1194 2068 1878

TABLE III Examples involving gas phase reactants: Reactants Products Energy (kJ) Ti + _(½) N₂ TiN -338 3Si + 2N₂ Si₃N₄ -829 2Al + ³/₂ O₂ Al₂O₃ -1676 Zr + H₂ ZrH₂ -169 Zr + O₂ ZrO₂ -1100 Zr + O₂ + xZrO₂ (1 + x)ZrO₂ -1100 Zr + O₂ + xCaO ZrO₂ + CaO -1100

Article Examples Example 1 - TiB₂-TiC-85Al

An exothermically reactive mixture containing by weight 76.8% aluminum, 16.8% titanium, and 6.5% boron carbide powders was designed to produce a product with an aluminum matrix and ceramic reinforcing phases comprising by volume 85% aluminum, 10.75% titanium diboride, and 4.25% titanium carbide. The mixture has a calculated adiabatic reaction temperature of 933 Kelvin. A mixture with a total weight of 4000 g. was prepared by weighing the constituent powders according to the percentages above. The powders were mixed using a motorized tumbler. The mixed powders were then placed in the dispenser tray of an EOS M290 direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) machine, available from EOS of North America, Inc. of Novi, MI (US).

Three dimensional models of articles for manufacture were designed using a computer aided design (CAD) software program and digitally sliced into layers corresponding to the thickness of one layer of powder to be spread. The digital information was sent to the EOS M290 DMLS machine.

The processing chamber of the M290 DMLS machine was flooded with argon gas and a layer of the powder mixture having a thickness of about 30 µm was spread across an aluminum base plate by a re-coater blade. The M290 ytterbium fiber laser traced the first slice of the articles onto the powder layer, thereby heating the traced regions to a temperature adequate to initiate the exothermic chemical reaction. The combined energy from the laser and chemical reaction in the traced regions was adequate to initiate the exothermic chemical reaction. The combined energy from the laser and chemical reaction in the traced regions was adequate to produce fusion by sintering and melting of the product materials to themselves and to the aluminum alloy build plate. A second layer of the powder mixture was then spread over the first layer by the re-coater blade and the second slice of the articles was traced by the laser to initiate the chemical reaction in this layer. The energy of the laser and chemical reaction caused the traced regions of the second layer to fuse to itself and to the first layer. The process was then repeated layer-by-layer until the complete article had been manufactured. The finished articles were then removed from the build plate by cutting them off with a band saw.

A total of 20 articles were manufactured on the build plate in one production run using either single or double laser exposures per layer with unique combinations of laser power and travel velocity settings for each part. The product phases of the articles were examined by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and found to be primarily titanium diboride and titanium carbide in an aluminum matrix. An SEM micrograph of one of the Example 1 articles is reproduced herein as FIG. 4 .

The densities of the parts were measured relative to the theoretical density of 3.00 g/cm³ using Archimedes method and found to have theoretical densities in a range of from about 92.04% to about 99.63%, depending on the combination of laser exposures and laser power and travel velocity used for the part. Hardness values were measured using the Rockwell B scale (HRB) with measurements found to average 62.9 HRB (approximately 1100 MPa) for a part with a high relative density. The measured hardness of the aluminum matrix composites compares favorably to literature values for commercially pure aluminum with a reported Brinell hardness of 30 BHN500 (approximately 294 MPa) which is below zero on the HRB scale.

Example 2 - (Ti-V)B₂,C-85Al-Mg Matrix

An exothermically reactive mixture containing by weight 75.19% aluminum/4.5% magnesium alloy powder, 18.23% titanium/6% aluminum/4% vanadium powder, and 6.58% boron carbide powder was designed to produce a product with an aluminum/4.5% magnesium matrix comprising by volume 85% and ceramic reinforcing phases comprising by volume 15% titanium and vanadium diborides and carbides. The mixture has a calculated adiabatic reaction temperature of 933 Kelvin. A mixture with a total weight of 4000 g. was prepared by weighing the constituent powders according to the percentages above. The powders were mixed using a motorized tumbler. The mixed powders were then placed in the dispenser tray of the EOS M290 direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) machine.

Three dimensional models of articles for manufacture were designed using a computer aided design (CAD) software program and digitally sliced into layers corresponding to the thickness of one layer of powder to be spread. The digital information was sent to the EOS M290 DMLS machine.

The processing chamber of the DMLS machine was flooded with argon gas and a layer of the powder mixture having a thickness of about 30 µm was spread across an aluminum build plate by a re-coater blade. The M290 ytterbium fiber laser traced the first slice of the articles onto the powder layer, thereby heating the traced regions to a temperature adequate to initiate the exothermic chemical reaction. The combined energy from the laser and chemical reaction in the traced regions was adequate to produce fusion by sintering and melting of the product materials to themselves and to the aluminum alloy build plate. A second layer of the powder mixture was then spread over the first layer by the re-coater blade and the second slice of the articles was traced by the laser to initiate the chemical reaction in this layer. The energy of the laser and chemical reaction caused the traced regions of the second layer to fuse to itself and to the first layer. The process was then repeated layer-by-layer until the complete articles had been manufactured. The finished articles were then removed from the build plate by wire electrical discharge machining (EDM).

A total of 20 articles were manufactured on the build plate in one production run using either single or double laser exposures per layer with unique combinations of laser power and travel velocity settings for each part. The product phases of the articles were examined by x-ray diffraction and SEM and found to be primarily titanium diboride and titanium carbide with lesser amounts of vanadium diboride and carbide in an aluminum-magnesium alloy matrix. The densities of the parts were measured relative to the theoretical density of 2.95 g/cm³ using Archimedes method and found to range from about 97.7% to about 100% theoretical, depending on the combination of laser exposures and laser power and travel velocity used for the part. Hardness values were measured using the Rockwell B scale (HRB) and found to average 90.4 HRB (approximately 1900 MPa) for a part with 100% relative density. The measured hardness of the aluminum matrix composites compares favorably to literature values for commercially pure aluminum with a hardness of 30 BHN500 (approximately 294 MPa) which is below zero on the HRB scale. The hardness value also compares favorably with that of the pure aluminum matrix composite described in Example 1.

Example 3 - NiTi

An exothermically reactive mixture containing by weight 55.5% nickel and 44.5% titanium was designed to produce a product comprised of intermetallic nickel-titanium shape memory alloy. The mixture has a calculated adiabatic reaction temperature of 1438 Kelvin. A mixture with a total weight of 2500 g. was prepared by weighing the constituent powders according to the percentages above. The powders were mixed using a motorized tumbler. The mixed powders were then placed in the dispenser tray of the EOS M290 direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) machine.

Three dimensional models of articles for manufacture were designed using a computer aided design (CAD) software program and digitally sliced into layers corresponding to the thickness of one layer of powder that will be spread. The digital information was sent to the EOS M290 DMLS machine.

The processing chamber of the DMLS machine was flooded with argon gas and a layer of the powder mixture having a thickness of about 40 µm was spread across a 316L stainless steel build plate by a re-coater blade. The M290 ytterbium fiber laser traced the first slice of the articles onto the powder layer, thereby heating the traced regions to a temperature adequate to initiate the exothermic chemical reaction. The combined energy from the laser and chemical reaction in the traced regions was adequate to produce fusion by sintering and melting of the product materials to themselves and to the 316L alloy build plate. A second layer of the powder mixture was then spread over the first layer by the re-coater blade and the second slice of the articles was traced by the laser to initiate the chemical reaction in this layer. The energy of the laser and chemical reaction caused the traced regions of the second layer to fuse to itself and to the first layer. The process was then repeated layer-by-layer until the complete articles had been manufactured. The finished articles were then removed from the build plate by cutting them off with a band saw.

A total of 12 articles were manufactured on the build plate in one production run using either single or double laser exposures per layer with unique combinations of laser power and travel velocity settings for each part. The product phases of the articles were examined by x-ray diffraction and SEM and found to be primarily one-to-one nickel-titanium intermetallic. The densities of the parts were measured relative to the theoretical density of 6.5 g/cm³ using Archimedes method and found to range from about 86.7% to about 97.2% depending on the combination of laser exposures and laser power and travel velocity used for the part. The parts were suitable for shape setting with subsequent heat treatment and mechanical deformation.

Example 4 - Extrusion

An exothermically reactive mixture containing by weight 55.12% titanium, 13.83% carbon, and 31.06% aluminum was designed to produce a product with an aluminum matrix comprising by volume 45% and titanium carbide particles comprising by volume 55%. The mixture has a calculated adiabatic reaction temperature of 2368 Kelvin. A mixture with a total weight of 200 g. was prepared by weighing the constituent powders according to the percentages above. The powders were hand shaken in a Nalgene style bottle and poured into a glass beaker where 80 g. of propylene glycol was subsequently added. The powders were mixed with the liquid propylene glycol by hand stirring using a stainless steel stirring utensil. The mixed powders and propylene glycol slurry were then placed in a flexible polymer bag with a nozzle attachment suitable for extrusion of the material by application of pressure on the bag containing the material.

Three steel sheet metal build plates were placed onto the surface of an electric hot plate to maintain a temperature of about 210° C. Individual articles were extruded to each of the three sheet metal build plates with the propylene glycol vaporizing during the extrusion process due to the elevated temperature of the build plate. The first article extrusion was completed by extruding the material in a continuous fashion to produce a green part comprised of 15 continuously fed interconnected layers of extruded material. The second article was produced by continuously extruding one layer of the article and then disconnecting the extruded material before starting the next layer. The third green article was completed by extruding a series of segments on each layer with discontinuities between the end of one segment and the start of the next as well as discontinuities between each layer. Although the extrusion process was performed manually in this example, the process is suitable for computer based automation.

The green articles were then reacted by local contact with an oxygen-acetylene flame to locally initiate the exothermic chemical reaction which then self-propagated throughout the article. The high temperature chemical reaction rapidly transformed the reactant materials into the product phases thereby fusing and strengthening the articles as well as vaporizing any volatile impurities such as residual propylene glycol. The reacted articles maintained the form produced during extrusion and exhibited have high abrasion resistance due to the hardness of the titanium carbide product phase.

Example 5 - SiC

An exothermically reactive mixture containing by weight 70.0% silicon and 30.0% carbon was designed to produce a product comprised of silicon carbide. The mixture has a calculated adiabatic reaction temperature of 1852 Kelvin. A mixture with a total weight of 10 g. was prepared by weighing the constituent powders according to the percentages above. The powders were mixed by shaking followed by hand milling with a mortar and pestle.

An Epilog Zing laser engraver with a 40 Watt carbon dioxide laser was modified to include a steel die having a cylindrical bore of about 25.4 mm (about 1 inch) with the die height positioned by the adjustable height positioning table while the cylindrical press rod passed through a hole in the positioning table to sit flat on the machine base at a fixed height. The Epilog Zing laser engraver was placed inside a controlled atmosphere glove box and the glove box was flooded with argon gas. The positioning table height was adjusted so that there was a gap of about 2 mm between the press rod and the top of the die. A layer of the mixed powders was placed on top of the press rod in the die and the layer of powders was scraped flat by hand using a steel scraping blade so the top of the layer was level with the top of the die.

A two-dimensional rectangular article having dimensions of about 12.7 mm by about 9.5 mm (about 0.5 inch by 0.375 inch) was designed using a CAD software program. The digital information was sent to the Epilog Zing 40 Watt laser engraver and the laser traced the rectangular pattern onto the powder layer, thereby heating the traced region to a temperature adequate to initiate the exothermic chemical reaction. The combined energy from the laser and chemical reaction in the traced region was adequate to produce fusion by sintering and melting of the product materials. The positioning table height was then raised one step corresponding to approximately 200 µm while the press rod position remained stationary. A second layer of the powder mixture was then spread over the first layer by hand and scraped level with the die top using a steel scraping blade. The rectangular article was again traced by the laser to initiate the chemical reaction in this layer. The energy of the laser and chemical reaction caused the traced regions of the second layer to fuse to itself and to the first layer. The process was then repeated layer-by-layer until the complete article with a thickness or height of about 1 mm had been manufactured. The finished article was then removed from the surrounding unreacted powder using forceps.

The product phases of the article were examined by x-ray diffraction and found to be primarily silicon carbide however silicon and carbon peaks were also present. The presence of the residual silicon and carbon is believed to be due to the layer thickness of about 200 µm being too great for the laser processing conditions.

Example 6 - WC-Co

An exothermically reactive mixture containing by weight 75.1% tungsten, 4.9% carbon, and 20.0% cobalt was designed to produce a product comprised by weight of 80% tungsten carbide and a 20% matrix of cobalt. The mixture has a calculated adiabatic reaction temperature of 876 Kelvin. A mixture with a total weight of 10 g. was prepared by weighing the constituent powders according to the percentages above. The powders were mixed by shaking followed by hand milling with a mortar and pestle.

An Epilog Zing laser engraver with a 40 Watt carbon dioxide laser was modified to include a steel die having a cylindrical bore of about 25.4 mm (about 1 inch) with the die height positioned by the adjustable height positioning table while the cylindrical press rod passed through a hole in the positioning table to sit flat on the machine base at a fixed height. The Epilog Zing laser engraver was placed inside a controlled atmosphere glove box and the glove box was flooded with argon gas. The positioning table height was adjusted so that there was a gap of about 2 mm between the press rod and the top of the die. A layer of the mixed powders was placed on top of the press rod in the die and the layer of powders was compacted by hand and then scraped flat using a steel plate so the top of the layer was level with the die top.

A two-dimensional square article having dimensions of about 12.7 mm (about 0.5 inch) square was designed using a CAD software program. The digital information was sent to the Epilog Zing 40 Watt laser engraver and the laser traced the square pattern onto the powder layer, thereby heating the traced region to a temperature adequate to initiate the exothermic chemical reaction. The combined energy from the laser and chemical reaction in the traced region was adequate to produce fusion by sintering and melting of the product materials. The positioning table height was then raised one step corresponding to about 200 µm while the press rod position remained stationary. A second layer of the powder mixture was then spread and compacted over the first layer by hand and scraped level with the die top using a steel scraping blade. The square article was again traced by the laser to initiate the chemical reaction in this layer. The energy of the laser and chemical reaction caused the traced regions of the second layer to fuse to itself and to the first layer. The process was then repeated layer-by-layer until the complete article with a height or thickness of about 1 mm had been manufactured. The finished article was then removed from the surrounding unreacted powder using forceps.

The product phases of the articles were examined by x-ray diffraction and found to be primarily tungsten carbide and cobalt, however tungsten and carbon peaks were also present. The presence of the residual tungsten and carbon is believed to be due to the layer thickness of about 200 µm being too great for the laser processing conditions.

Example 7 - TiB₂-TiC-Glass Matrix

An exothermically reactive mixture containing by weight 50.0% glass powder (approximately 74.5% silica, 13.5% soda, 10.5% lime, 1.5% alumina), 36.1% titanium, and 13.9% boron carbide was designed to produce a product comprised of titanium diboride and titanium carbide in a matrix of 50 percent by weight glass. A mixture with a total weight of 5 grams was prepared by weighing the constituent powders according to the percentages above. The powders were mixed by shaking followed by hand milling with a mortar and pestle.

An Epilog Zing laser engraver with a 40 Watt carbon dioxide laser was modified to include a steel die having a cylindrical bore of about 25.4 mm (about 1 inch) with the die height positioned by the adjustable height positioning table while the cylindrical press rod passed through a hole in the positioning table to sit flat on the machine base at a fixed height. The Epilog Zing laser engraver was placed inside a controlled atmosphere glove box and the glove box was flooded with argon gas. The positioning table height was adjusted so that there was a gap of about 2 mm between the press rod and the top of the die. A layer of the mixed powders was placed on top of the press rod in the die and the layer of powders was compacted by hand and then scraped flat using a steel plate so the top of the layer was level with the die top.

A two-dimensional rectangular article having dimensions of about 12.7 mm by about 9.5 mm (about 0.5 inch by 0.375 inch) was designed using a CAD computer software program. The digital information was sent to the Epilog Zing 40 Watt laser engraver and the laser traced the rectangular pattern onto the powder layer, thereby heating the traced region to a temperature adequate to initiate the exothermic chemical reaction. The combined energy from the laser and chemical reaction in the traced region was adequate to produce fusion by sintering and melting of the product materials. The positioning table height was then raised two steps corresponding to approximately 200 µm while the press rod position remained stationary. A second layer of the powder mixture was then spread and compacted over the first layer by hand and scraped level with the die top using a steel scraping blade. The rectangular article was again traced by the laser to initiate the chemical reaction in this layer. The energy of the laser and chemical reaction caused the traced regions of the second layer to fuse to itself and to the first layer. The process was then repeated layer-by-layer until the complete article with a height or thickness of about 0.8 mm had been manufactured. The finished article was then removed from the surrounding unreacted powder using forceps.

The product phases of the articles were examined by x-ray diffraction and found to contain primarily titanium diboride, titanium carbide, and amorphous material along with lesser amounts of reactant and intermediary phases. The presence of these additional phases is believed to be due to the layer thickness of 200 microns being too great for the laser processing conditions.

Example 8 - B₄C

An exothermically reactive mixture containing by weight 78.3% boron and 21.7% carbon was designed to produce a product comprised of boron carbide. The mixture has a calculated adiabatic reaction temperature of 957 Kelvin. A mixture with a total weight of 10 g. was prepared by weighing the constituent powders according to the percentages above. The powders were mixed by shaking followed by hand milling with a mortar and pestle.

An Epilog Zing laser engraver with a 40 Watt carbon dioxide laser was modified to include a steel die having a cylindrical bore of about 25.4 mm (about 1 inch) with the die height positioned by the adjustable height positioning table while the cylindrical press rod passed through a hole in the positioning table to sit flat on the machine base at a fixed height. The Epilog Zing laser engraver was placed inside a controlled atmosphere glove box and the glove box was flooded with argon gas. The positioning table height was adjusted so that there was a gap of about 2 mm between the press rod and the top of the die. A layer of the mixed powders was placed on top of the press rod in the die and the layer of powders was compacted by hand and then scraped flat using a steel plate so the top of the layer was level with the die top.

A two-dimensional rectangular article having dimensions of about 12.7 mm by about 9.5 mm (about 0.5 inch by 0.375 inch) was designed using a CAD software program. The digital information was sent to the Epilog Zing 40 Watt laser engraver and the laser traced the rectangular pattern onto the powder layer, thereby heating the traced region to a temperature adequate to initiate the exothermic chemical reaction. The combined energy from the laser and chemical reaction in the traced region was adequate to produce fusion by sintering and melting of the product materials. The positioning table height was then raised two steps corresponding to approximately 400 µm while the press rod position remained stationary. A second layer of the powder mixture was then spread and compacted over the first layer by hand and scraped level with the die top using a steel scraping blade. The rectangular article was again traced by the laser to initiate the chemical reaction in this layer. The energy of the laser and chemical reaction caused the traced regions of the second layer to fuse to itself and to the first layer. The process was then repeated layer-by-layer until the complete article with a height or thickness of about 5.6 millimeters had been manufactured. The finished article was then removed from the surrounding unreacted powder using forceps.

The product phases of the articles were examined by x-ray diffraction and found to contain boron carbide with boron and carbon peaks also present. The presence of the residual boron and carbon is believed to be due to the layer thickness of about 400 µm being too great for the laser processing conditions.

Example 9 - B₄C-TiB₂-SiC Eutectic

An exothermically reactive mixture containing by weight 61.3% boron, 25.1% carbon, 11.1% silicon, and 2.5% titanium was designed to produce a ternary eutectic ceramic product comprised of boron carbide, silicon carbide, and titanium diboride. The mixture has a calculated adiabatic reaction temperature of 1408 Kelvin. A mixture with a total weight of 10 g. was prepared by weighing the constituent powders according to the percentages above. The powders were mixed by shaking followed by hand milling with a mortar and pestle.

An Epilog Zing laser engraver with a 40 Watt carbon dioxide laser was modified to include a steel die having a cylindrical bore of about 25.4 mm (about 1 inch) with the die height positioned by the adjustable height positioning table while the cylindrical press rod passed through a hole in the positioning table to sit flat on the machine base at a fixed height. The Epilog Zing laser engraver was placed inside a controlled atmosphere glove box and the glove box was flooded with argon gas. The positioning table height was adjusted so that there was a gap of about 2 mm between the press rod and the top of the die. A layer of the mixed powders was placed on top of the press rod in the die and the layer of powders was scraped flat by hand using a steel scraping blade so the top of the layer was level with the die top.

A two-dimensional rectangular article having dimensions of about 12.7 mm by about 9.5 mm (about 0.5 inch by 0.375 inch) was designed using a CAD software program. The digital information was sent to the Epilog Zing 40 Watt laser engraver and the laser traced the rectangular pattern onto the powder layer, thereby heating the traced region to a temperature adequate to initiate the exothermic chemical reaction. The combined energy from the laser and chemical reaction in the traced region was adequate to produce fusion by sintering and melting of the product materials. The positioning table height was then raised one step corresponding to approximately 200 µm while the press rod position remained stationary. A second layer of the powder mixture was then spread over the first layer by hand and scraped level with the die top using a steel scraping blade. The rectangular article was again traced by the laser to initiate the chemical reaction in this layer. The energy of the laser and chemical reaction caused the traced regions of the second layer to fuse to itself and to the first layer. The process was then repeated layer-by-layer until the complete article with a height or thickness of about 1.4 mm had been manufactured. The finished article was then removed from the surrounding unreacted powder using forceps.

Example 10 - TiC-TiC Diluent

An exothermically reactive mixture containing by weight 40.0% titanium, 10.0% carbon, and 50.0% titanium carbide diluent was designed to produce a product comprised of titanium carbide. The diluent titanium carbide was added to lower the reaction temperature to prevent propagation of the reaction outside of the regions intended to comprise the designed articles. The mixture has a calculated adiabatic reaction temperature of 2076 Kelvin. A mixture with a total weight of 10 g. was prepared by weighing the constituent powders according to the percentages above. The powders were mixed by shaking followed by hand milling with a mortar and pestle.

An Epilog Zing laser engraver with a 40 Watt carbon dioxide laser was modified to house a removable steel die having a cylindrical bore with a diameter of about 25.4 mm (about 1 inch). A layer of the mixed powders was pressed in the die at 1 metric ton-force between two press rods and the upper press rod was pressed out with the compacted powder remaining in the die. The die and compacted powder were placed in the laser engraver and the processing chamber was flooded with argon gas.

A two-dimensional rectangular article having dimensions of about 12.7 mm by about 9.5 mm (about 0.5 inch by 0.375 inch) was designed using a CAD software program. The digital information was sent to the Epilog Zing 40 Watt laser engraver and the laser traced the rectangular pattern onto the powder layer, thereby heating the traced region to a temperature adequate to initiate the exothermic chemical reaction. The combined energy from the laser and chemical reaction in the traced region was adequate to produce fusion by sintering and melting of the product materials. Additional mixed powder totaling 0.1 g. was added on top of the first layer and again compacted using one metric ton-force and the die and compacted powder was placed in the laser engraver. The processing chamber was again flooded with argon gas and the rectangular article was again traced by the laser to initiate the chemical reaction in this layer. The energy of the laser and chemical reaction caused the traced regions of the second layer to fuse to itself and to the first layer. The finished article was then removed from the surrounding unreacted powder using forceps.

The product phases of the articles were examined by x-ray diffraction and found to contain primarily titanium carbide with lesser amounts of titanium and carbon also present. The presence of the residual boron and carbon is believed to be due to incomplete removal of surrounding powders and due to the layer height being too high for the laser processing conditions.

Example 11 - Ti-TiN

A powder containing by weight 100% titanium was designed to exothermically react with nitrogen gas in an atmosphere comprised of 90% argon and 10% nitrogen gases at a pressure of one atmosphere to produce a product comprised of titanium nitride and titanium metal.

An Epilog Zing laser engraver with a 40 Watt carbon dioxide laser was modified to include a steel die having a cylindrical bore of about 25.4 mm (about 1 inch) with the die height positioned by the adjustable height positioning table while the cylindrical press rod passed through a hole in the positioning table to sit flat on the machine base at a fixed height. The Epilog Zing laser engraver was placed inside a controlled atmosphere glove box and the glove box was flooded with the mixture of argon and nitrogen gases. The positioning table height was adjusted so that there was a gap of about 2 mm between the press rod and the top of the die. A layer of the mixed powders was placed on top of the press rod in the die and the layer of powders was scraped flat by hand using a steel scraping blade so the top of the layer was level with the die top.

A two-dimensional rectangular article having dimensions of about 12.7 mm by about 9.5 mm (about 0.5 inch by 0.375 inch) was designed using a CAD software program. The digital information was sent to the Epilog Zing 40 Watt laser engraver and the laser traced the rectangular pattern onto the powder layer, thereby heating the traced region to a temperature adequate to initiate the exothermic chemical reaction with the nitrogen gas. The rate and extent of the reaction was kinetically limited by the availability of nitrogen. The combined energy from the laser and chemical reaction in the traced region was adequate to produce fusion by sintering and melting of the product materials. The positioning table height was then raised one step corresponding to approximately 200 µm while the press rod position remained stationary. A second layer of the powder mixture was then spread over the first layer by hand and scraped level with the die top using a steel scraping blade. The rectangular article was again traced by the laser to initiate the chemical reaction in this layer. The energy of the laser and chemical reaction caused the traced regions of the second layer to fuse to itself and to the first layer. The process was then repeated layer-by-layer until the complete article with a height or thickness of about 1 mm had been manufactured. The finished article was then removed from the surrounding unreacted powder using forceps.

The product was found to have a gold color characteristic of titanium nitride and also contain unreacted titanium metal. The amount of product phase converted to titanium nitride can be increased by increasing the nitrogen concentration and pressure as well as by decreasing the titanium particle size and layer thickness.

Aluminum and Other Alloys

Aspects of the reactive additive manufacturing processes described herein may be used to form aluminum alloy articles comprising aluminum alloys and/or aluminum metal matrix composite materials previously thought unsuitable for conventional additive manufacturing processes. For example, the only aluminum alloy previously commonly used for additive manufacturing processes was AlSi₁₀Mg, which is based on a casting aluminum alloy. However, this alloy is not suitable for applications that demand higher performance, including many applications in the aerospace, automotive, and medical device fields. While other aluminum alloys, typically wrought alloys such as, for example, A6061, A2024, A7075, and A7050, are known and better suited for such applications, they were not regarded as suitable for additive manufacturing processes. Unexpectedly and surprisingly, however, the reactive additive manufacturing processes shown and described herein have proven to be well-suited for use with such aluminum alloys.

We have discovered that mixing powdered aluminum alloys with at least one nucleant material, e.g., either a nucleant or a nucleant precursor, promotes the formation of a fine equiaxed microstructure in the manufactured article that is effective in reducing or even eliminating the hot tearing and hot cracking problems associated with many types of alloys and fabrication processes. The fine grained microstructure also increases strength and can improve toughness of the manufactured article. In addition to promoting nucleation, the nucleant material can form particles or precipitates that serve to pin grain boundaries and reduce grain growth, thereby maintaining the fine grained microstructure of the manufactured article even at elevated temperatures.

Moreover, the nucleant material may be selected to have or form products with a high strength and high modulus to produce metal matrix composite (MMC) manufactured articles having improved properties compared to the base alloy alone. Metal matrix composite (MMC) articles produced in accordance with the teachings herein will typically have improved combinations of strength, modulus, wear resistance, toughness, thermal and electrical conductivities, and elevated temperature performance compared to the base metal alloy alone. In addition, the properties and performance of such MMC articles can be tailored for the desired application through adjustments to the volume percentage of the reinforcing phase.

Besides aluminum alloys, these techniques are applicable to other alloys, including nickel based alloys, so-called ‘superalloys,’ Inconel alloys, and others, that may benefit from heterogeneous nucleation sites to promote the formation of fine, equiaxed microstructure. This is of particular benefit for alloys that are considered unweldable without a filler of a different composition, as such alloys were previously thought unprintable by laser powder fusion processes of the type described herein. Even alloys considered weldable or printable may still benefit from a more fine and equiaxed microstructure of the manufactured article, including improved yield strength as modeled by the Hall-Petch equation.

Referring now primarily to FIG. 5 , a method 310 of producing an aluminum article 316 may involve providing a supply of an aluminum alloy powder 312 and a supply of at least one nucleant material 314. Appropriate amounts of the aluminum alloy powder 312 and the nucleant material 314 may then be blended together in a mixer 326 to form a blended mixture 328. The blended mixture 328 may then be formed into a first layer 332. At least a portion of the first layer 332 is then subjected to directed energy 342 sufficient to raise the temperature of at least the portion of the first layer 332 to at least the liquidus temperature of the aluminum alloy. The first layer 332 is then allowed to cool to a temperature sufficient to allow the aluminum alloy to recrystallize. The nucleant material lowers the energy of nucleation of the aluminum alloy, resulting in the formation of a fine grained microstructure. Thereafter, a second layer 350 of the blended powder mixture 328 may be formed on the first layer 332. The second layer 350 then may be subjected to directed energy 342 sufficient to raise the temperature of the second layer 350 to at least the liquidus temperature of the aluminum alloy. The second layer 350 is then allowed to cool to a temperature sufficient to allow the aluminum alloy to recrystallize. Subsequent layers may be so deposited, heated, and cooled until the desired metal article 316 is formed.

The aluminum alloy 312 may comprise either a wrought alloy or a casting alloy. The method 310 can be used in conjunction with either heat-treatable (i.e., precipitation-hardenable) alloys or with work-hardening alloys, although it can be used in conjunction with alloys that are not heat treated or work hardened. Heat treatable wrought aluminum alloys may include aluminum alloys of the 2xxx, 6xxx, 7xxx, and some of 8xxx series. Work-hardening wrought aluminum alloys may include aluminum alloys of the 1xxx, 3xxx, 4xxx, 5xxx, and some of the 8xxx series. Casting alloys also may be used, including the heat-treatable casting alloys in the 2xx, 3xx, and 7xx series. However, it should be noted that, for alloys containing silicon, high levels of silicon can depress the nucleation ability of many nucleants. Accordingly, certain processes described herein may be less effective with aluminum alloys containing high levels of silicon.

As mentioned, the aluminum alloy 312 is provided in powder form. The optimum particle size of the particular aluminum alloy powder 312 that may be used depends to some degree on the particular process used to supply the directed energy 342 to the material layers 332, 350. Generally speaking, smaller particle sizes may be used in processes wherein a laser beam is the directed energy source. Larger particle sizes may be used in processes wherein the directed energy source is an electron beam. More specifically, for laser powder bed fusion processes, powders 312 having D50 particle sizes in a range of about 5 µm to about 80 µm will work well. Good results may be obtained in electron beam processes with larger particles, such as particles having D50 sizes in a range of about 60 µm to about 150 µm. If necessary or desirable, the aluminum alloy powder 312 may be sieved or classified to ensure that the aluminum alloy powder 312 comprises particles within the desired size range.

Aluminum alloy powders 312 suitable for use with the present invention are readily commercially available and can be obtained from a wide variety of suppliers and vendors. Alternatively, suitable aluminum powders 312 may be specially manufactured or prepared using any of a wide range of processes now known in the art or that may become available in the future. Consequently, the present invention should not be regarded as limited to any particular type of aluminum alloy powder.

The nucleant material 314 may comprise any of a wide range of materials suitable for serving as a nucleant or innoculant for the base alloy constituent in the manner described herein. As briefly mentioned above, the nucleant material 314 reduces the energy required for nucleation, resulting in a manufactured article 316 having a fine-grained microstructure that significantly reduces susceptibility to hot cracking and hot tearing. The nucleant material may comprise one or more nucleants, one or more nucleant precursors, or combinations thereof. In embodiments wherein the nucleant material 314 comprises one or more nucleant precursors, the nucleant precursors will undergo a chemical reaction during the heating and recrystallization processes to form intermetallic or ceramic compounds that promote heterogeneous nucleation. In embodiments wherein the nucleant material 314 comprises one or more nucleants, the nucleants may comprise pre-synthesized intermetallic or ceramic components that do not need to undergo additional chemical reactions to promote heterogeneous nucleation.

Generally speaking, it is preferred, but not required, that the nucleant remain crystalline at temperatures above the liquidus temperature of the base alloy. However, in other embodiments the nucleant need not remain crystalline at temperatures above the liquidus temperature of the base alloy so long as the nucleant crystallizes prior to significant crystallization of the base alloy. These requirements are generally met by nucleants that are thermodynamically stable at or above the liquidus phase of the base alloy down to the temperature where nucleation has completed.

To provide the greatest benefit the nucleants should be numerous, well dispersed, and have a small particle size. The nucleants should also lower the nucleation energy required for crystallizing the base alloy by lowering the interfacial energy of the nucleus relative to the interfacial energy of the nucleus and liquid. The reduction of interfacial energy is most readily achieved by selecting nucleants having one or more crystal planes with atomic spacings and distributions close to one or more planes of the crystallized base alloy.

In some embodiments, the nucleant material 314 may be provided in powder form so that it may be mixed or blended with the aluminum alloy powder 312 to form the blended material 328. Alternatively, the nucleant material 314 may be provided as a coating on the aluminum alloy powder 312. If so, the process used to coat the aluminum alloy powder 312 with the nucleant material 314 may be regarded as the blending step, with the coated aluminum alloy powder being regarded as the blended mixture. Processes suitable for coating the aluminum alloy powder 312 with the nucleant material 314 include, but are not limited to, ball milling, spray binding, spray drying, and atomic layer deposition. In still another variation, the nucleant material 314 may be combined with the alloy material 312 during an atomization process to result in the formation of an atomized powder that includes both constituents. In still yet another variation a combined powder could be atomized by using two atomized aluminum alloys, with one of the aluminum alloys containing added titanium, for example, and the second containing added boron. When combined, the resulting atomized material would result in an alloy having titanium boride nucleants and reinforcements.

In accordance with the foregoing considerations, then, suitable nucleant materials 314 may comprise any of a wide range of elements, compounds, or alloys that will satisfy the requirements for the nucleant, as described herein. Suitable nucleant precursors may comprise elements, compounds, or alloys that will react with one or more components of the primary alloy or react with an additional nucleant element, compound, or alloy.

Nucleant materials 314 suitable for use with aluminum alloys of the type described herein include, but are not limited to, titanium alone to form Al₃Ti as a nucleant; Al₃Ti as a compound, zirconium alone to form Al₃Zr as a nucleant; Al₃Zr as a compound; zirconium with boron to form ZrB or ZrB₂; zirconium with carbon to form ZrC; hafnium alone to form Al₃Hf as a nucleant; Al₃Hf as a compound; boron alone to form AlB or AlB₂ as nucleant(s); titanium and boron to form TiB or TiB₂ in addition to Al₃Ti and AlB or AlB₂ as nucleants; TiB₂ as a compound; scandium to form Al₃Sc as a nucleant; Al₃Sc as a compound; carbon to form Al₄C₃ or carbon with titanium to form TiC; titanium with boron carbide to form Al₃Ti, AlB, AlB₂, TiB, TiB₂, Al₄C₃, and TiC. Other suitable nucleant materials include yttrium alone or together with titanium and boron to form intermetallics; strontium to form strontium aluminum intermetallics or with boron to form strontium borides; and Lanthanum series elements to form intermetallics or Lanthanum series oxides.

In embodiments wherein the nucleant material 314 is provided in powder form (i.e., as opposed to a coating on the alloy powder 312), the particle size of the nucleant material 314 may be selected to be about the same as the particle size of the aluminum alloy powder 312 for the particular process involved. That is, for laser powder bed fusion processes, nucleant material powders 314 having D50 particle sizes in a range of about 5 µm to about 80 µm, and more preferably from about 10 µM to about 45 µm, work well, although nucleant material powders 314 could be successfully used down to the nano size range (i.e., 1 µm or smaller) if bound to larger alloy particles. Nucleant material powders 314 to be used with electron beam processes may have larger sizes, with good results being obtained with nucleant material powders 314 having D50 particle sizes in a range of about 60 µm to about 150 µm. Again, nucleant material powders 314 in the nano size range may be used with electron beam processes as well. The nucleant material powder 314 may be sieved or classified, if necessary or desirable, to achieve powders having particles in the desired size range.

If the nucleant material 314 comprises a reactive species (i.e., a nucleant precursor), larger particle sizes are more likely to result in residual grains of the nucleant material 314 included in the manufactured article 316. Finer nucleant material 314 (i.e., smaller particle size) will result in manufactured articles 316 with larger amounts of the nucleant material 314 being converted to product phases. Smaller particle sizes of nucleant material powders 314 will allow reduced amounts of nucleant material to produce similar effects as nucleant materials having larger particle sizes. Smaller nucleant material particles 314 may be bound to the larger, better flowing alloy particles 312 by any of a wide range of mechanical processes, such as by ball or rod milling, by spray binding, by spray drying, or by coating (e.g., via atomic layer deposition).

The relative proportions of alloy and nucleant material 312 and 314 may vary depending on a wide range of factors. For example, low amounts of nucleant material 314, e.g., ranging from about 0.5 vol.% to about 3.0 vol.% when the nucleant material 314 is provided in powder form, will largely serve as grain refiners and ‘printability’ enablers. For small nucleants, the range could be as low as about 0.1 vol.%. The material properties of the manufactured article 316, including strength, elongation, and modulus, will be similar to those of a fine grained wrought articles of the same base alloy. Higher amounts of nucleant material 314, e.g., ranging from about 3 vol.% to about 35 vol.% when provided in powder form, can increase material performance of the manufactured article 316 by providing a high strength and high stiffness reinforcing phase in addition to the grain refinement and printability benefits.

Once the aluminum alloy 312 and nucleant material 314 have been provided, suitable quantities of each may then be combined or blended together in mixer or blender 326 to form a blended mixture 328. The mixer or blender 326 may comprise any of a wide range of mixing devices, such as tumblers, mixers, ball mills, or blenders now known in the art or that may be developed in the future that are (or would be) suitable for the particular application and materials involved. If desired, the resulting blended mixture 328 may be sieved or classified.

It may also be desirable to add one or more liquids 322 and/or binders 324 to the mixture 328. Liquids 322 and/or binders 324 may be added to improve the flowability of the mixture 328 by binding the alloy 312 and nucleant material 314 into agglomerates or to form a paste, slurry, suspension, colloidal suspension, or plastically deformable material. Any added liquids 322 and/or binders 324 may be selected to volatilize or decompose following the layer formation prior to or during the application of energy. The liquids 322 and/or binders 324 also may participate in reactions to form product phases in the final manufactured article 316. Exemplary liquids 322 and/or binders 324 may comprise any of a wide range of waxes, polymers, or other low-melting temperature materials that are liquids, viscous liquids, or capable of undergoing viscous flow at room temperature or otherwise prior to the blending step.

After being blended, the resulting blended mixture 328 may be spread at step 330 to form a first layer 322. As described earlier, any of a wide range of spreading and forming devices, such as, for example, coating blades, brushes, rollers, sprayers, or dispensers, may be used to spread the blended mixture into the first layer 322. First layer 322 may be spread or formed on a suitable base or pre-existing article 324 at step 330.

After being formed at step 330, at least a portion of the first layer 322 may be subjected at step 340 to directed energy sufficient to raise the temperature of the portion of the first layer 322 to at least the liquidus temperature of the aluminum alloy. Step 340 may be conducted in a suitable process chamber 354. In certain embodiments, step 340 may be conducted in the presence of a process gas 346, which may comprise a reactive gas or an inert gas. Alternatively, step 340 may be conducted in a vacuum or a partial vacuum 348.

Energy sufficient for raising the temperature of the first layer 332 may be provided by a directed energy beam 342, such as a laser beam or electron beam. If the first layer 322 was spread onto a base plate or a pre-fabricated article 324, the directed energy beam 342 may also fuse the first layer 322 to the base plate or prefabricated article 324. If the nucleant material 314 comprises a nucleant precursor, the energy provided to the first layer 322 should also be sufficient to initiate a reaction(s) between the nucleant precursor material(s) 314 and other constituent (s) of the blended mixture 328 in order to form or create the nucleant and/or product compounds. As mentioned above, product compounds may include intermetallic and ceramic compounds if the manufactured article 316 is to comprise a metal matrix composite materials. The first layer 322 should then be allowed to cool to a temperature sufficient to allow the aluminum alloy to recrystallize. The nucleant or product compounds, often sub-micron in size, serve as heterogeneous nucleation sites to lower the energy of nucleation and produce a fine grained microstructure in the manufactured article 316. The product compounds can also help to pin grain boundaries to increase the recrystallization temperature and limit grain growth to improve the high temperature performance of the manufactured article 316.

After the first layer 322 has been recrystallized, the forming step 330 may be repeated in which additional amounts of blended material 328 are spread or formed into a second layer 350 over the just-formed layer of the article 316. Thereafter, energy may again be applied at step 340 to raise or elevate the temperature of the second layer 350 above the liquidus temperature of the aluminum alloy. If the nucleant is to be produced in-situ, i.e., by the reaction of the nucleant precursor 314 with one or more constituents in the blended mixture 328, then the applied energy will also need to be sufficient to produce in the second layer 350 additional amounts of the nucleant material or product compounds. Subsequent cooling of the second layer 350 will allow the alloy material to recrystallize. Again, the steps of adding additional layers (e.g., at step 330) and subjecting them to energy (e.g., at step 340) may be repeated 352 until the desired article 316 is complete or fully formed. After the additive manufacturing process is complete, the resulting article 316 may be heat treated, if desired.

Aluminum Alloy Article Examples Example 1 - 2024 Grade Aluminum Alloy

83.6 wt.% of an inert gas atomized A2024 aluminum powder (D50 particle size of 30 µm) was mixed with 12.0 wt.% of an inert gas atomized titanium-6Al-4 V alloy powder (classified to have a particle size in a range of 15 µm to 45 µm) and 4.4 wt.% of a boron carbide powder (360 grit). The resulting blended powder mixture was used in an EOS M400 laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing system to produce an additively manufactured article layer-by-layer. During the laser fusion process localized chemical reactions produced titanium diboride, titanium carbide, titanium aluminide, and aluminum carbide phases.

After formation, the additively manufactured article was removed from the base plate and found to have 99.8% relative density and microstructure examination confirmed the article was free of microcracking. The article was then heat treated at 500° C. for 1.5 hours followed by a water quench. Tensile testing found the additively manufactured article had a Young’s modulus of 98 GPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 591 MPa and a yield strength of 541 MPa. The printed composite alloy was also found to exhibit excellent wear resistance. These properties all compare favorably with wrought 2024 aluminum and this alloy was not known to be printable without the modifications described by this invention.

Example 2 - 2024 Grade Aluminum Alloy

96.7 wt% of an inert gas atomized A2024 grade aluminum powder (D50 particle size of 30 µm) was mixed with 2.4 wt% of an inert gas atomized titanium metal powder (classified to have a particle size of <20 µm) and 0.9 wt% of a boron carbide powder (800 grit) . The resulting powder blend was used in a commercial EOS M290 laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing system to produce an additively manufactured article layer-by-layer. During the laser fusion process localized chemical reactions took place to produce titanium diboride, titanium carbide, titanium aluminide, and aluminum carbide phases.

The additively manufactured article was removed from the base plate and found to have 99.8% relative density and microstructure examination confirmed the article was free of microcracking. The part was then heat treated at 500° C. for 1.5 hours followed by a water quench. The part was then aged at 165° C. for 24 hours. Tensile testing found the additively manufactured article had an ultimate tensile strength of 496 MPa and a yield strength of 400 MPa with 14% elongation. These properties compare favorably with wrought 2024 aluminum which again was not known to be printable without the modifications described by this invention.

Example 3 - 6061 Grade Aluminum Alloy

96.7 wt% of an inert gas atomized A6061 grade aluminum powder (D50 particle size of 30 µm) was mixed with 2.4 wt% of an inert gas atomized titanium metal powder (classified to have a particle size of <20 µm) and 0.9 wt% of a boron carbide powder (800 grit). The blended powder was used in a commercial EOS M290 laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing system to produce an additively manufactured article layer-by-layer. During the laser fusion process localized chemical reactions produced titanium diboride, titanium carbide, titanium aluminide, and aluminum carbide phases.

The additively manufactured article was removed from the base plate and found to have 99.9% relative density and microstructure examination confirmed the part was free of microcracking. The article was then heat treated at 500° C. for 1.5 hours followed by a water quench. Tensile testing found the additively manufactured article had an ultimate tensile strength of 315 MPa and a yield strength of 285 MPa with 18% elongation. These properties compare favorable with wrought 6061 aluminum, which was not known to be printable without the modifications described by this invention.

Example 4 - 7075 Grade Aluminum Alloy

An inert gas atomized aluminum powder was produced based on A7075 composition with the amounts of the volatile elements increased to contain 7.5 wt% Zn and 3.1% Mg so that after volatile partial loss of these components during additive manufacturing the alloy will contain approximately 5.5 wt% Zn and 2.5 wt% Mg. 98.41 wt% of the atomized aluminum alloy powder (D50 particle size of 32 µm) was mixed with 1.15 wt% of an inert gas atomized titanium metal powder (classified to have a particle size of <20 µm) and 0.44 wt% of a boron carbide powder (800 grit). The resulting powder blend was used in a commercial EOS M290 laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing system to produce an additively manufactured article layer-by-layer. During the laser fusion process localized chemical reactions took place to produce titanium diboride, titanium carbide, titanium aluminide, and aluminum carbide phases. Some of the zinc and magnesium in the aluminum alloy was vaporized and lost to reduce the initial excess quantity of these elements to the desired 7075 aluminum range.

The additively manufactured article was removed from the base plate and found to have 99.4% relative density and microstructure examination confirmed the article was free of microcracking. This aluminum alloy grade was not known to be printable without the modifications described by this invention.

Example 5 - Inconel 625 Grade Alloy

98.9 wt% of a gas atomized Inconel 625 powder was mixed with 0.8 wt% of an inert gas atomized titanium metal powder (classified to have a particle size range of 15-45 µm) and 0.3 wt% of a boron carbide powder (800 grit). The resulting powder blend was used in a commercial EOS M290 laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing system to produce an additively manufactured article layer-by-layer. During the laser fusion process localized chemical reactions took place to produce titanium diboride, titanium carbide, nickel titanium intermetallic, and other minor phases.

The additively manufactured article was removed from the base plate and found to have 99.7% relative density and microstructure examination confirmed the article was free of microcracking. The as-printed hardness was measured to be 37 HRC compared to a hardness of 27 HRC for the Inconel 625 alloy printed without the described additives.

Example 6 - Maraging Steel 300 Grade Alloy

98.9 wt% of a gas atomized maraging steel 300 grade powder was mixed with 0.8 wt% of an inert gas atomized titanium metal powder (classified to have a particle size range of 15-45 µm) and 0.3 wt% of a boron carbide powder (800 grit). The resulting powder blend was used in a commercial EOS M290 laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing system to produce an additively manufactured article layer-by-layer. During the laser fusion process localized chemical reactions took place to produce titanium diboride, titanium carbide, and other phases.

The additively manufactured article was removed from the base plate and found to have near full relative density and microstructure examination confirmed the article was free of microcracking. The as-printed hardness was measured to be 51 HRC compared to a hardness of 35 HRC for the maraging steel 300 alloy printed without the described additives.

Having herein set forth preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is anticipated that suitable modifications can be made thereto which will nonetheless remain within the scope of the invention. The invention shall therefore only be construed in accordance with the following claims: 

1. A method of producing an aluminum article, comprising: providing a supply of an aluminum alloy in powder form having a D50 particle size in a range of about 5 µm to about 150 µm; providing a supply of a nucleant material, said nucleant material lowering the nucleation energy required to crystallize said aluminum alloy; blending said supply of aluminum alloy powder and said nucleant material to form a blended mixture; forming said blended mixture into a first layer; subjecting at least a portion of said first layer to energy sufficient to raise the temperature of at least a portion of said first layer to at least the liquidus temperature of said aluminum alloy; allowing at least a portion of said first layer to cool to a temperature sufficient to allow said aluminum alloy to recrystallize; forming a second layer of said blended mixture on said first layer; and repeating said subjecting and allowing steps on said second layer to form an additional portion of said article.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said nucleant material comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of a nucleant and a nucleant precursor.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said nucleant material comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of Al₃Ti, Al₃Zr, AlB, AlB₂, TiB, TiB₂, ZrB, ZrB₂, Al₃Hf, Al₃Sc, Al₄C₃, TiC, and compounds thereof.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said nucleant material comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of Al₄C₃ and TiC.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said nucleant material crystallizes prior to significant recrystallization of said aluminum alloy.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said nucleant material is crystalline at a temperature greater than the liquidus temperature of said aluminum alloy.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a supply of a binder and wherein said blending comprises blending said binder, said aluminum alloy, and said nucleant material to form said blended mixture.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said nucleant material comprises a nucleant precursor and wherein said subjecting provides energy sufficient to initiate a reaction with the nucleant precursor to form a nucleant, said nucleant lowering the nucleation energy required to recrystallize said aluminum alloy.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein said nucleant precursor comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of Ti, Zr, Hf, B, Sc, and C.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the reaction of said nucleant precursor results in the formation of one or more nucleants selected from the group consisting of Al₃Ti, Al₃Zr, AlB, AlB₂, TiB, TiB₂, ZrB, ZrB₂, Al₃Hf, Al₃Sc, Al₄C₃, TiC, and compounds thereof.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein said aluminum alloy lacks silicon in an amount sufficient to depress the nucleation ability of said nucleant material.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein said subjecting step comprises subjecting said first and second layers to directed energy.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said subjecting said first and second layers to directed energy comprises directing a laser beam on said first and second layers.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein said aluminum alloy powder has a D50 particle size in a range of about 5 µm to about 80 µm.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein said subjecting said first and second layers to directed energy comprises directing an electron beam on said first and second layers.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein said aluminum alloy powder has a D50 particle size in a range of about 60 µm to about 150 µm.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein said aluminum alloy comprises a wrought aluminum alloy.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein said aluminum alloy comprises a casting aluminum alloy.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein said aluminum alloy comprises a heat-treatable aluminum alloy.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein said aluminum alloy comprises a work-hardenable aluminum alloy.
 21. The method of claim 1, wherein said blending further comprises blending said aluminum alloy powder and said nucleant material with a liquid to form a blended paste, said blended paste comprising a substantially homogenous mixture of said aluminum alloy powder and said nucleant material and wherein said forming the first and second layers comprises extruding the blended paste to form said first and second layers.
 22. The method of claim 1, further comprising repeating said forming, subjecting, and allowing steps until the aluminum article is fully formed.
 23. The method of claim 22, further comprising subjecting the aluminum article to a heat treatment step.
 24. A method of producing an article, comprising: providing a supply of an aluminum alloy in powder form having a D50 particle size in a range of about 5 µm to about 150 µm; providing a supply of a nucleant precursor material; blending said supply of aluminum alloy powder and said nucleant precursor material powder to form a blended mixture; forming the blended mixture into a first layer; subjecting at least a portion of the first layer to energy sufficient to initiate a reaction with said nucleant precursor material to form at least one nucleant, said at least one nucleant lowering the energy of nucleation of said aluminum alloy, said energy also being sufficient to raise the temperature of at least a portion of the first layer to at least the liquidus temperature said the aluminum alloy; allowing at least a portion of the first layer to cool to a temperature sufficient to allow said aluminum alloy to recrystallize; and repeating said forming, subjecting, and allowing steps on subsequent layers until the article is fully formed.
 25. A method of producing a metal alloy article, comprising: providing a supply of a metal alloy in powder form having a D50 particle size in a range of about 5 µm to about 150 µm; providing a supply of a nucleant material, said nucleant material lowering the energy of nucleation of said metal alloy; blending said supply of metal alloy powder and said nucleant material to form a blended mixture; forming the blended mixture into a first layer; subjecting at least a portion of the first layer to energy sufficient to raise the temperature of the first layer to at least the liquidus temperature of said metal alloy; allowing at least a portion of the first layer to cool to a temperature sufficient to allow the metal alloy to recrystallize; and repeating said forming, subjecting, and allowing steps on subsequent layers until the metal alloy article is formed.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein said providing a supply of the metal alloy in powder form comprises providing a supply of a nickel alloy in powder form.
 27. The method of claim 25, wherein said providing a supply of the metal alloy in powder form comprises providing a supply of an Inconel alloy in powder form.
 28. The method of claim 25, wherein said providing a supply of the metal alloy in powder form comprises providing a supply of a steel alloy in powder form.
 29. A metal alloy powder for use in a laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process comprising a mixture of metal alloy particles and a nucleant material, the metal alloy particles having a D50 particle size in a range of about 5 µm to about 150 µm, the nucleant material lowering the energy of nucleation of the metal alloy particles.
 30. The metal alloy powder of claim 29, wherein the nucleant material comprises a powder having a D50 particle size in a range of about 5 µm to about 150 µm.
 31. The metal alloy powder of claim 29, wherein the nucleant material is present in a range of from about 0.1 vol.% to about 35 vol.% of said metal alloy powder blend.
 32. The method of claim 1, wherein said nucleant material comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of yttrium, strontium, titanium, boron, and intermetallics thereof.
 33. The method of claim 1, wherein said nucleant material comprises one or more Lanthanum series elements, intermetallics, and oxides thereof. 